Elly Ney’s pre-war 78s have been turning up on CD reissues, including these concerto recordings from the 1930s. It was unusual in those days to record early Mozart concertos such as this sturdy, well-played K. 450. Some of Ney’s phrase tapering has more to do with German Romanticism than Mozart’s firm, classical outlines. But there’s a genuine give and take between soloist and an impressively disciplined, albeit unaccredited orchestra led by Willem van Hoogstraten. The engineering also is quite good for its time. Sonics are more constricted and murky in the pair’s 1932 Strauss Burleske (the work’s first recording), and Ney’s fingers are hard pressed to keep up with her husband’s insanely fast tempos. I like the performance’s over-the-edge qualities, although Claudio Arrau’s comparable speed and added technical sheen (in his RCA version from the ’40s, reissued by Arlecchino and now deleted) has more staying power. Similarly, Ney’s 1937 Beethoven Second Concerto appears earthbound and a shade prosaic compared with Schnabel’s winged inspiration and cogent inflections in his 1933 HMV recording. Rick Torres’ transfers are affected with minimum intervention and spotless side joins. Good notes by Tully Potter wrap up a release whose attractions will appeal mainly to specialists.
